Many Americans are known for rejecting the concept of universal healthcare. Still, the following 25 healthcare horror stories that happened in America will make you question precisely what Americans are attempting to protect.
1. I got pregnant @ 19 – I was at a decent job but unfortunately had no health insurance. At my 1st doctor appointment, they sat me down for “financial counseling” on how I was going to afford the hospital bill to pay them. I couldn’t afford the projected 20K hospital bill on my own, so they suggested I apply for Medicaid. Called the Medicaid office and was denied because I made FIFTY DOLLARS over the income limit per year. They told me that I should quit my job so that I would qualify for public assistance – otherwise, the bill would be entirely on me.
Luckily, I had a boss that I could really confide in. She cut back my pay by like ten cents an hour, something ridiculously insignificant like that, and wrote a letter to my caseworker letting her know that it was due to “company budgetary restraints.” Voila, I got the help I needed.
Not many people are nearly as lucky as I was. The fact that I was actually TOLD to quit my job in order to be able to ‘afford’ having my son still makes my stomach churn. (submitted by user magdaleena)
2. “A few years ago, I had surgery on my hand because I had a mallet break of my index finger and the bone fragment twisted with the tendon attached. The corrective surgery involved twisting the fragment back into place with pins and then leaving those in for a few weeks so ossification could happen. Understandably, the surgery was in the $15,000 range, give or take, and insurance covered around 65% of it. But what astounded me most was that when we removed the pins from my ring finger, it cost $6,500. Really? It was five minutes with a doctor (not even the surgeon) and a set of pliers! Also, insurance claimed it was “cosmetic,” so they wouldn’t pay for the removal of the pins. Lost my faith in our system that day.” (schrodingersqueer)
3. “How about when your wife works for the insurance company that is also her provider, and after our baby was born, they refused to pay the bill because her pregnancy was a pre-existing condition? Their excuse was that because the child was born two days prior to the due date, she must have lied about the date she became pregnant. Now her employer is the same company that is suing us for the bill, ironic?” (tripmas)
